Vanderriet Has Handle on Veer as Vikings Roll

Before this year, Marina High School quarterback Rick Vanderriet had never played organized football. Early in the season, it showed.

Vanderriet was given a crash course in Marina’s complicated veer offense, and there were early indications that the Viking coaching staff might have been asking too much of a guy who was still getting used to shoulder pads and a helmet.

But as Marina enters the final week of the regular season, it has become clear that Vanderriet is a fast learner.

Friday night, he threw two touchdown passes and made all the right moves to free Viking running backs, directing Marina to a 37-15 win over Westminster in front of an overflow crowd 6,500 in Westminster Stadium.

The victory keeps the Vikings unbeaten (4-0) in Sunset League play and gives Marina the chance to win the Sunset League title outright for the first time ever when they meet Edison (3-1) next week.

The defeat drops Westminster to 2-2 in league play and puts the Lions in jeopardy of being eliminated from post-season play in a year when they beat both Edison and Fountain Valley, teams they have seldom beaten.

Marina will enter next week’s decisive game on quite a roll. Since a 14-0 loss to Foothill six weeks ago, the Vikings have won four straight and have outscored their opponents, 153-39, in the process.

A big part of the turnaround is the improvement of Vanderriet. His passing statistics have improved with each week, and so has his ability to run the Vikings’ veer offense, which depends much on the quarterback’s ability to deceive defenders and get the ball in the hands of the proper running back.

“At the start, I got a little confused because I had never played before,” Vanderriet said. “But I caught on.”

Indeed. Against Westminster--a team that had given up more than 14 points only once this season--that running back was Sean Magula. With the help of Vanderriet’s clever play fakes, Magula rushed for 135 yards and 2 touchdowns on 15 carries.

Vanderriet completed 5 of 12 passes for 118 yards, including touchdown passes of 34 yards to Mike Gillies and 16 yards to Steve Jennings.

“His throws aren’t always pretty, but they get nice results,” Marina Coach Dave Thompson said.

Marina broke this game open by scoring 21 points in the second quarter en route to a 24-0, halftime lead. Westminster’s offense, unaccustommed to such deficits, could never recover.

The Vikings scored on their first possession of the second quarter, when, after a 32-yard run by Magula, Vanderriet let loose with a bomb to Gillies in the end zone.

Marina defensive back Bill Craft, Orange County’s interception leader, picked off his seventh pass of the season to set up the Vikings’ next score. Craft returned the ball 22 yards to the Westminster 16. Two plays later, Vanderriet threw to Jennings, who was open in the back of the end zone, and, with 6:07 left in the first half, Marina had a 17-0 lead.

Any chance Westminster had of getting back into the game ended on its next possession, when the Lions had a first-and-goal from the Marina 2-yard line and failed to score. Craft dropped Mike Cover for a 2-yard loss on first down. Todd Destatte and Dave Winterhalter teammed to throw Lion quarterback Steve Gulley for a 2-yard loss on second down. On third down, Billy Dunn intercepted a Gulley pass intended for Dave Shelley in the end zone.

The Vikings took over with 1:06 left in the first half. Sit down a couple times and leave the field ahead, 17-0, right?

Nope.

On Marina’s second play, Vanderriet hit Jennings on a streak down the right sideline for a 42-yard gain, then teammed with Ray Goldsboro for a 17-yard gain to the Westminster 16.

Vanderriet then set up the touchdown with a 15-yard run after a play fake that had the Westminster defense tackling running back Craft, who was sans ball. Magula then scored from 1 yard out with five seconds left in the half.

Westminster’s offense is not designed for 24-point comebacks, and it showed in the second half. Gulley’s final statistics: 9 of 29 passing for 128 yards and four interceptions.